I've seen many a comment in the wake of Sandy Hook that there is simply no reason for a citizen to own an assault rifle.
I give you this: There is no reason to have a camera on your phone. We don't need a reason. We don't have to justify the things we purchase with our hard earned money. If we want it and have the money to buy it, that's no business of anyone elses and we don't need to justify it.
The only caveat being, we don't do any harm to others with it.

...as any Siberian husky dog owner would confirm, despite their intelligence, it is not safe to let them off their leads.The active, energetic and resilient breed have an independent intelligence with an instinct to run, run and keep running.

So, to keep them safe, you need an enclosed area for exercise, or a LOT of your own land.

The Huskies In Hull group, which was formed to bring husky dog owners together, is now appealing for a place they can let their dogs off their leads safely.

And by 'appealing', who do you think they imagine should provide it?

Yes. That's right.

Mike Gibbs, group co-ordinator said: "You can't let them off their lead unless it is in a secure area.

"We need somewhere enclosed. An ideal place is a tennis court or something similar with a 6ft fence.

"The dogs need exercise, a walk with a lead is not good enough.

"They are not the type of dogs you can just sit on your lap and expect to be good.

"If you do not let them exercise, they get frustrated, they chew carpets and furniture and eat just about anything."

Well, Mike ol' chum, shouldn't you have thought about that before you chose your preferred pet?

Mr Gibbs said: "We do not see why the council can't provide some sort of doggy playground where we can let them off their leads safely, without charging us to do so.

"If they can't, we are ideally looking for someone who has enclosed land somewhere in Hull who wouldn't mind us bringing the dogs for a run-about.

"If anyone has any land we could use, that would be brilliant."

Anything else you'd like, Mike? Someone (the council, perhaps, font of all bounty it seems) to provide you with free Pedigree Chum as well?

Kelly Kociela, 31, abused an Indian member of staff at Sainsbury's Local on the corner of Longmead Avenue and Gloucester Road before being stopped by police during the afternoon while swigging from a can of lager with her children , six and ten, in tow.

Lovely, I'm sure you'll agree.

Magistrates told her: "Normally we would be looking at probation intervention. However we do see that you are making sterling efforts to get your life back on track and engaging with agencies that can help you."

That was back in March. And since then?

A mother who turned up at her children's school while drunk has been banned from the premises after she bit the deputy headteacher on the arm.

Kelly Kociela appeared 'emotional and slurring' when she turned up at Filton Avenue Junior and Infant School, in Bristol, where she demanded to take her two youngsters from a club.
She then became abusive to staff in a 30 minute ordeal during which she bit teacher Matthew Cox, Bristol magistrates heard.

Shocker, I'm sure you'll agree...

The court heard she had previous convictions for being drunk in charge of a child in 2005, 2006, 2007 and this year and she will be sentenced on January 17.

Magistrates bailed her on condition she complies with an existing Bristol City Council restraining order banning her from the school.

Imara Jones (Who he? Why, none other than the economic justice contributor for Colorlines.com! Aren't you impressed?) on the awful injustice done to ... well, people with afros, I think:

Over the past year, "natural hair pat downs" have taken place with greater reported frequency. The fact that they occur at all underscores that America's post-racial future still has roots in its racist past.

With a twice-elected black man as the country's chief executive, how could the TSA get it so wrong?

So black Americans should be exempt from the stupid screening laws that everyone else has to undergo because Obama!

Yeah, right. Give him a call on your ObamaPhone and tell him about it, Imara...

District Judge Daniel Curtis said Crompton went beyond his public duty and his sentence sent out the message that a police officer is not "beyond the law".

Crompton was given a 12-month community order, 150 hours of unpaid work, told to pay costs of £1,500 and £500 in compensation to his victim.

Crompton wasn't on duty at the time.

District Judge Curtis said: "On the Sunday before Christmas, staff at Winteringham Fields were taken out by Colin McGurran for some drinks as a thanks for their hard work.

"They had been in the Bay Horse public house from 4.30pm onwards.

"At around 8.30pm, Colin Crompton and his wife arrived at the Bay Horse as they wanted a quiet drink.

"They decided to move on to the Ferry Boat. The Winteringham Fields group stayed for about an hour longer before moving on to the Ferry Boat as they did not want to disturb the quiz night."

Witnesses had described the atmosphere in the pub as "tense" and a series of minor disagreements took place.
It was at this point Mr Oades was asked to leave the pub by the landlady. Moments later, he tried to return through a side entrance that was being blocked by the defendant.

But as they were queuing to be served a staff member approached them and said Mrs Hitchings would have to wait outside because her wheelchair was taking up too much space.

The couple believe Mrs Hitchings was discriminated against because of her disability.

Well, of course they do!
However, the postmaster has to consider other things:

But the sub-postmaster who runs the post office has told The Post that banning large electric wheelchairs is not discrimination but a "health and safety issue".

It's quite simple - they can't fit in the shop!
Naturally, that doesn't stop the usual disability advocates from demanding the moon on a stick:

Cheri Wilkins, chief executive officer of West of England Centre for Inclusive Living (WECIL), said that in an ideal world everyone with an impairment would have access to all public places and services.

She said the Equality Act 2010 was a positive step towards a reduction in discrimination, but believes there is still a lot more that needs to be done.

"This is a common problem that arises around access for disabled people," she said.
"Many people do need to use wider wheelchairs and if a shop aisle is not wide enough, it does exclude them."

Well, Cheri, sweetie, just what are shopkeepers supposed to do? Apply for an exemption from the laws of physics?

You really should have learned at school that two objects can't occupy the same space at the same time...

The sub-postmaster of Knowle Post Office, who refused to give his name to The Post, claims he previously checked with The Post Office Ltd and Bristol City Council that the set-up of his shop was acceptable.

He said the aisles between the Londis convenience store part of the shop and the post office part were wide enough for manual wheelchairs but not wide enough for electric wheelchairs, like the one Mrs Hitchings uses.

He said: "Large electric wheelchairs don't fit down the narrow aisles because they are too wide and there's no turning space for them.

"We go out of our way to help all our customers, especially those with disabilities.

"I have asked many people in electric or motorised wheelchairs to stay outside while we get them what they want, or a family member gets it for them from the post office.

"We have had people in motorised wheelchairs lose control in the past. One customer had his foot run over, another was hit by a wheelchair and once a wheelchair user collided with our lottery machine. It is a health and safety issue.

"I've explained many, many times to many people and normally they don't have a problem. I also informed Post Office Ltd and the city council about it, as we are providing a public service. Neither of them raised any concerns."

The court heard how Ada met the woman at a club in London's West End in February this year.
It was told that the pair exchanged phone numbers and arranged to meet up the following night at the woman's home.

The jury heard how Ada, now playing for Conference team Ebbsfleet United, suggested bringing a friend along but could not get hold of one. He arrived alone and he, the woman and her friend drank vodka.

But the court was told Ada's demeanour changed after a few hours and he demanded to be with the victim alone.
He told her he had made "the effort and sacrifice" to come to her, before forcing himself on her and making her perform sex acts.

And just where was the woman's 'friend' at this point? Did she leave as demanded? Why?

After being told to leave, Ada sent a text saying: "I am sorry, I was drunk" and then, in a phone call to her friend, said: "I am sorry I forced her, but she had led me on," the jury heard.

Yes, yes. I know.
But did she really expect him to think he'd been invited over to play 'Scrabble'?

Ada was arrested the next day at the Brewers' training ground.
The court heard he initially denied that he had touched her.

However, he later told detectives he knew his victim's "type", as they wanted to grab hold of a footballer as it would give them a better and more glamorous life.

To most feminists, he might well be a lousy raping scumbag (but then, to a lot, all men are, regardless).

But...he's not entirely wrong, is he? And the role of the 'friend' in this whole affair is an odd one, I think you'll agree...

Compulsory canine life jackets at pet day care and boarding facilities across Colorado could become reality under rules being drafted by the Pet Animal Care Facilities Program, a division of the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

Seriously?!

Yes. And not just lifejackets, there must be a doggy 'Baywatch' too!

The draft rules state that "every dog must wear a personal flotation device while in or while having access to a pool area whenever the pool water is deeper than the height of the dog at its shoulder."

They also stipulate that the pool must have at least one lifeguard on duty to watch over the bedraggled barkers.

A French psychiatrist has been convicted of manslaughter six years after one of her patients hacked an elderly man to death.
Danielle Canarelli, 58, was handed a one-year suspended prison sentence for her 'grave error' in failing to recognise that her paranoid schizophrenic patient Joël Gaillard posed a public risk.

Refreshing, eh?

The doctor, who has over 30 years of experience and currently works at Marseille's Edouard-Toulouse hospital, was also ordered to pay 8,500 euros to the victim's children, in the groundbreaking case that could affect the way patients are treated.

Better and better...

'If a psychiatrist lives in fear of being sentenced, it will have very real consequences and probably lead to harsher treatment of patients,' said Canarelli's lawyer, Sylvain Pontier.

Yes, but if it saves one life, Sylvain! Isn't that the pious retort of those who'd restrict essential liberties in other circumstances?

Sunday, 23 December 2012

Sex is good whether you're married or not, and certainly folks who wait until marriage can have a lot of sex once they tie the knot. But waiting until marriage often means both early marriage and conservative views on marriage and gender...

Saturday, 22 December 2012

Although the teenagers that were arrested played for Nieuw-Sloten, some of them lived in other parts of Nieuw-West, an area with a diverse ethnic mix and not without its problems. Baadoud, who was born in Morocco, says that parental responsibility is a big issue there. "We have a group of parents that when they come with their children [to football], you really don't want to have them there. And we have another group of parents, they don't come. They even don't know in which team their children are playing; they deliver them at the door and they drive away. There are people who don't even know the teacher of their son or the team leader of the club. There is a lot of work to be done."

He will not, however, accept that the finger of blame can be pointed at one group of people. "It's very easy to scream and to say it's a Moroccan problem. On the other hand, I don't want to say we have no problems. I am very open and clear that we have to discuss. Families really need help and I'm trying to open their eyes. But if you stand outside and you scream it's a problem, it won't be solved and it might create another problem – people will feel: 'We are not welcome.'"

And someone else, later in the article, wonders why they have a population that has no respect for authority...

In March, Humberside Fire and Rescue Service was called to Jess's house when she set her bedroom alight. Realising something was wrong, the attending crew manager filed a PN1 form, an internal document used when officers come into contact with a child they believe might be vulnerable.
However, his concerns were not shared with health professionals or social services.

The paperwork was lost in the system. Would it have made a difference? Doubtful, as she was already well known to the appropriate authorities:

Jess first came to the attention of social workers in October last year after she accused her dad of hitting her.
An investigation showed her claims were completely untrue.

Soon afterwards Jess began to self-harm and, on November 23 last year, she was referred to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
Meetings continued until February 29, when Jess and her mum both felt things had improved and she was discharged.

She then set the fire. Did her parents take any action, or did they think 'Oh, well, the fire service'll do it'?

The officer argued any changes to a firefighter's role, such as expecting them to identify children at risk, must be properly thought out.

He said: "The fire service has to evolve and nobody's got any problem with that. We're all happy to evolve if the training is given properly.

"If we're going to take these things on, we need the correct training, not half an hour on a wet afternoon."

Maybe the best thing to do is...not take them on? Stick to the job you are paid and trained for?

There's always a few stories every year of the greedy and the mildly-criminal gullible fools who get duped by conmen. You know, usually if it's too good to be true, that's a clue.

And those stories are often filed in the 'And now...' section, with the sneering contempt of the editor practically wafting off the page. 'Ah', you can imagine them thinking, 'the lower classes are so dim!'

So, when they are the ones duped, it's time to break out that popcorn!

We feel so stupid: how could my wife and I have been conned out of more than £7,000 by one phone conversation? The answer is that the scam was brilliant in design and execution.

Well, of course it must have been! It was you, after all,. And you wouldn't fall for anything other than a scam conceived and executed by a Moriarty, a Napoleon of crime, a Hannibal Lecter of scamsters. A perfect con with no flaws.

So...how'd it go down?

It began with a phone call after dinner on a Friday night. My wife answered the phone and the caller announced herself as ‘DCI Jane Seymour of the Serious Fraud Office’.

The usual story - your card's been used in a scam. So...call the officer back to verify she's who she says she is? Our hero is prepared! Good lad:

Was DCI Seymour who she said she was? How could we know she was really working for the Serious Fraud Office?
Her ANSWER turned us from cautious sceptics into credulous fools. ‘Call 999 and check me out,’ she urged.

So we did. I put the phone down, picked it up again and dialled 999. The dialling tone was normal, the phone rang and the response was as prompt and efficient as a law-abiding citizen could wish for.

*sigh* Scammers always are. They know you catch more flies with honey than vinegar...

‘We can have your cards blocked immediately,’ said DCI Seymour to reassure us. ‘New cards can be delivered to your house in three working days, or five for the foreign cards. But first we’ll need your PIN numbers.’ That should, of course, have rung alarm bells.

Well, duh!

How many times have we all been told, ‘Never, never give your PIN number to anyone. Your bank will never ask for it’?

Well, quite!!

We hesitated — and this is where DCI Seymour scored again. ‘Don’t tell me the codes,’ she said. ‘Tap them into the phone and they will be sent straight to our technical team.’

Because it's OK to give the codes to them. Riiiight.

DCI Seymour kept reassuring us that all would be well. ‘Are you OK? Do you have enough money for the weekend? We can get you emergency funds of £300 delivered to you by 3pm tomorrow. We’ll debit it from your HSBC account and I’ll call you again tomorrow at noon.’

Because that's the sort of service you can expect from the police, right? Or rather, it's the sort of service that people like the author fondly think the police should offer.

And when she said she would send a courier round to pick up our compromised cards, it seemed so reasonable.

/doublefacepalm

The conclusion to this sorry tale? Well, as you can guess, the penny finally dropped. But it took a while.

The police — the real police — have been sympathetic and tell us that the con is targeted at the well-to-do and the elderly who may not be as techno-savvy as younger account holders.

Apart from the 'not hanging up their end', there's nothing 'techno-savvy' needed here. Most of it's good, old fashioned suspicion. And also a bit of worldly experience - is what they are saying plausible?

And I'm afraid the answer was a big 'No!'. Unless, of course, you inhabit the quaint liberal world where everything is just supposed to work that way. The police will liaise with your bank? Why, yes. Of course they will! That's just how it works, isn't it?

So let's hope that the next time an idiot swaps his hard-earned for a laptop that turns out to be a bag of water bottles, the newspaper won't sneer.

The M.E.N told yesterday how Salford town hall has applied to evict the killer’s mum Billie-Jean and dad Tony from their council house.

It was claimed the Stapleton family have ‘made life a misery’ for their neighbours around Regent Square in Ordsall.

A possession notice against the Stapletons has now revealed the criminal convictions that council bosses are relying on to prove their case.

No, it's not just his convictions, either:

But the council have also listed a criminal conviction against his mum Billie-Jean Stapleton as part of the reasons for evicting the family.

The possession notice says: “On April 27, 2011 until October 27, 2011, you permitted the use of premises (on Regent Square, Ordsall) for use of smoking cannabis. You received a 12 month conditional discharge and were ordered to pay £85 costs.”

Yes, I'm sure there will be people who will complain that this is too harsh.

To which I say 'You live next door to them, then. Don't expect decent people to..'

Friday, 21 December 2012

The so-called Jessica Ennis Generation (those born in the 80s and 90s, like me) was portrayed as more tolerant of, and essentially not bothered by, mixed race families.

It followed other recent reports which claimed that mixed race people are more attractive, more intelligent and biologically superior to their single race counterparts. But have the prejudices which blighted mixed race people and couples completely disappeared over the last 20 years?

Yes, you read that right - someone who writes approvingly of how reports suggest his kind are better than everyone else is pontificating on racism.

A month ago, alarmed by moves to water down a key protection arising from Sir William Macpherson's inquiry into the death of her son, the campaigner wrote to the prime minister, the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, and the other major party leaders. She told the Guardian the letter had been ignored. An earlier communication seeking to establish relations with the coalition at the outset also went without reply.

Hurrah! Who the hell are you, and why should you think you have the ear of ministers? Hell, as DumbJon points out, even the business advisors don't get that...

"With the new government in, the whole thing around race has changed completely," said Lawrence, who will unveil a series of events on Wednesday to mark the 20th anniversary next year of Stephen's murder.

"Race is definitely not on the government's agenda. They have done away with the stop-and-search recording. Even before they came in, they talked about changing things, particularly on stop and search; that they would do away with the forms and they have done that.
"I don't really understand it because we all want a society in which we can live safely and live freely and to have police officers doing what they need to do on the street. But when it comes to race, they feel as if they are doing us a favour rather than doing what is right."

If you really want a society in which you can 'live safely and live freely', Doreen, why don't you turn your attention to your own so-called 'community'?

Mal said they drove off to a nearby hair salon, Classic Cutz, where owner Terry Smith wrapped the finger in kitchen roll to try to stem the flow of blood before they drove on to York Hospital.

A....hair salon?!

He said he had told police about the incident but the law did not allow for any action to be taken over dogs attacking people while on their own premises.

It seems I'm not the only person who lacks sympathy:

AMAJET says...

I dont see why the owner should be classed as an 'irresponsible minority'?, how can you possibly train a dog not to find 4 wiggling sausage fingers to good an opportunity to miss when someone shoves them through your door. Moral of this story is don't shove your junk mail through our doors. It's appalling how much rubbish gets posted through these days. Btw sorry to hear about your finger.get well soon.

Quite!

cityforthepremier says...

Well done Fido for making a stand against junk mailers. What a shame you can't bite those PPI tossers phoning every bloody day too!

The independent tribunal panel said the school "treated Max unfavourably because of something arising from his disability" in its decision last month.

The exclusion was ruled to be "disproportionate" and the use of the BIC "not appropriate to address or modify Max’s behaviour".

Details of his behaviour? It includes 'swearing, shouting out in class and refusing to obey teachers'.
Which the school dealt with by removing him from class. You know, to prevent any issues for the other children attending school. Does the tribunal give a tuppeny damn about them?

And the reason he was finally excluded? That was for

'refusing to visit the BIC as punishment for an unfounded physical assault allegation against a teacher.'

The five-year-old has bitten and punched other children and staff, thrown school equipment and stolen fruit.

On one occasion his entire class was evacuated to protect other pupils.

The last straw came when he kicked a teacher in the face as she bent over his chair.

But his parents claim he is well-behaved at home and say he has been ‘thrown on the scrapheap’ by the school.

‘They said they had to exclude him to ensure the safety of the staff and pupils but I don’t understand how a five-year-old can pose so much of a threat,’ said his father, Cameron, 27, a care home manager.

Thursday, 20 December 2012

So, I put it to the head teacher: what punishment are you giving these boys for making my son’s life a misery?
‘Oh, none,’ she replied. ‘We’re going to set up a drama group to help the three of them (including Monty) deal with their social responses.’

Social responses? What on earth was she talking about? I felt like she had swallowed a whole political correctness dictionary!

I rushed from the room, went straight home and told Monty that if either of those boys came anywhere near him again he had my permission to punch them — a social response I felt was quite appropriate under the circumstances.
But I knew he wouldn't He’s no angel, but punching is not his style.

Then the school suddenly changed tack. ‘This isn't actually a bullying matter,’ the head teacher informed me at the beginning of week three.
‘Bullying is the relentless targeting of one individual, and these two boys behave like this towards every child in the class.’

She then suggested — with Monty present — that it might be best to just ‘put up with it, and stop taking their behaviour so personally’.

And people wonder why the teaching profession is increasingly despised..?

Stephen Sikpi, 23, singled out dozing passengers on late night services between London Liverpool Street and Southend Victoria.
He stole expensive belongings including iPhones and iPads and even an entire rucksack.

He was eventually caught after a tracker was identified on a stolen iPhone which led police to his girlfriend’s home.

Thanks be to technology!

Elizabeth Connolly, mitigating, said the first theft had been entirely opportunistic and he had no previous offences.
He had only received a caution in the past.

She said: “Because he got away with it he then with it he then disengaged with reality, with the reality of what he was doing was wrong, the reality of the affect (sic) on the victims.”

There you have it - what better proof that short, lenient sentences don't work?

She said that he had difficulty “engaging” with his probation officer and so had probably not given the best impression in his pre-sentence report.

Translation: chippy little scumbag smarted off to his probation officer because, who cares what goes down in those reports anyway?

He was jailed for eight months. No order was made for costs or compensation due to his circumstances.

The suspects fled to a red Hyundai car and as the police sergeant stood in the road and raised his hand to stop it Togher accelerated into him, the court heard.

The impact lifted him off his feet, said Mr Doherty, but the officer gave chase and caught up with Togher when her escape was blocked at a junction.

If you drive a half-tionne of metal and glass at someone at speed, how are you not attempting to kill them?

Heroin addict Togher, of Martock Road, Bedminster, was jailed for a total of 11 months yesterday after pleading guilty to theft, dangerous driving and assault with intent to resist arrest at an earlier hearing.

Wednesday, 19 December 2012

At that time, Sodiq dreamed of being a doctor and was planning to go to college. I left to focus on film school.

When I came back, I couldn't understand how it had all gone so wrong.

Sodiq, now 20, is starting a 30-year jail sentence in Feltham Young Offenders Institution for murder.
The teenager who died was Sylvester Akapalara, who had been to the same school as Sodiq and was a very promising athlete. Both he and Sodiq had dreams but both had got caught up in street life.

On a very hot day in August 1994, my wife told me she was going down to the Derry Rite Aid to pick up a refill on her sinus medicine prescription – this is stuff you can buy over the counter these days, I believe. I’d finished my writing for the day and offered to pick it up for her. She said thanks, but she wanted to get a piece of fish at the supermarket next door anyway; two birds with one stone and all of that. She blew a kiss at me off the palm of her hand and went out. The next time I saw her she was on TV. That’s how you identify the dead here in Derry – no walking down a subterranean corridor with green tiles on the walls and long fluorescent bars overhead, no naked body rolling out of a chilly drawer on casters; you just go into an office marked PRIVATE and look at a TV screen and say yep or nope.

I’m a great fan of Stephen King, and have – so far – read all of his books to date. But I found this particular novel to be one of his best-written, a true ‘old fashioned’ ghost story given a modern twist.

It's a great book to curl up and read on a winter's evening in front of a fire, with an intriguing mystery at the heart of it, and a bone-chilling supernatural revenge motive. I thought it’d make the best tv/film adaptation too, being almost completely free of any of King's references to his overarching 'mythology' but it was not to be; last year's US tv adaptation attempt was woeful, though it tried hard to capture the essence of the novel.

I hope you've enjoyed this little bit of monthly bibliophilia. There were several books just falling outside my selected twelve, and writing this has actually prompted me to read a few of these again. Chief amongst them Katherine Neville's 'The Eight', a superb dual-timeline novel about a mystical chess set, and Melanie Rawn's 'Dragon Prince' trilogy.

The family broke down and wept in the dock, except for William, who stood stoney faced.

Mary, also known as Breda, screamed uncontrollably and frantically pulled her hair as the first verdict, against her husband was read out.

"Oh daddy! Oh daddy!" she yelled. "Mind the children. Why are you doing this? I have never done anything to anyone in all my life."

Six security staff struggled to maintain order while the verdicts were read out. One security guard was injured as family members leapt to their feet and Gloucestershire Police officers in the front row helped eject family members from the public gallery.

Thousands of London children are going to school hungry because their parents are too poor to afford breakfast.

A harrowing investigation reveals today that scores of children have even passed out in class due to lack of food.

Bullshit! Show me the evidence for this claim!

Three quarters of teachers interviewed by the London Assembly in a snapshot survey said they had personally taken action to help hungry children.

Well, of course they did! Even on an anonymous survey, I'm sure the progressives like to enjoy that warm glow that comes from feeling magnanimous, even if you are just fantasising...

Of those who said they had “taken action” to feed pupils, 60 per cent said they provided food at their own expense.

We must be payin' 'em too much! Let's hope the school governors remember this when they start to go on strike for more pay...

Fiona Twycross, who is leading the study, said: “It’s heart-breaking to think that children are going to school hungry. Some kids have told us there’s no food in the cupboard at home at all. The problem might be even more widespread than we think. There are probably thousands going hungry.

“You can’t see a hungry child, you just see a child who is listless or a bit ratty and lacking concentration, so unless a teacher spots it and asks the right questions we just don’t know.

“Thank goodness for caring teachers who pay for food for hungry pupils out of their own pockets – although it is scandalous that they have to in this day and age. What worries me even more is what is happening during the school holidays when this extra help isn't available.”

Gosh, Fiona, maybe the parents will have to use their KittyBingo money to feed their brats instead?

Investigators have uncovered harrowing tales. One teacher came across a child standing outside a cookery class sniffing the air as cakes were baked inside.

I stood by the bakery counter in M&S the other day, sniffing the air in similar fashion. Because it smelled good, not because I was starving!

Tuesday, 18 December 2012

"He asks a lot of questions. Every day he asks if Omar is alive or dead. He knows what happened, he was there, but he needs to make sense of it," says his father, Jihad Misharawi, whose family was devastated in an inferno on the first full day of last month's war.

Katya Mira, of the RSPCA said: "This was a senseless and sickening attack on some defenseless animals who have done nothing wrong.

"We hope the fact these people were brought to justice sends out a very strong message to others that violence and cruelty to animals is unacceptable and against the law."

Gosh, yes! A 'community punishment'. Ah, if only that meant the community got a chance to come visit them while they spent time in the stocks...

So who are these fine upstanding members of the community?

Daniel Thomas Hall, 21, of Church Lane, Flamborough, Robert Lee, 18, of Lighthouse Road, Flamborough, and Daniel Alan Wood, 18, of the Dog and Duck in Flamborough, all pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal when they appeared at Bridlington Magistrates' Court.

The 'Dog and Duck'..? You're kidding me!

But Daniel Wood's father, David Wood, landlord of the Dog and Duck, said it had been little more than a prank.

He said: "They had just been out drinking. It was just a stupid prank, it wasn't a big thing.

A man who had a six-month fling with a teenage girl has been spared jail.

Cue hired mouthpiece!

Robert Duval, defending, said "Mr Friendship's life had been wrecked by his actions and now he could not even get employment as a cleaner as a result."

He told the judge: "He has never been in trouble in any way, shape or form in his life before these events.

"It is to his credit that he has been as frank as he has to the sexual relationship that has taken place.

"Had he not done so it is probable, although not certain, that he would not have been prosecuted and this matter would have made no news and he would not have appeared in the dock of a crown court in this country. He was not obliged to do that and he has been courageous for doing that.

"This was a genuine case of infatuation. This was not a case of exploitation and there is no evidence of coercion or sophistication or manipulation."
Mr Duval added:

"The effects of this case upon him are irretrievable – they are permanent, they are punitive and they are humiliating and distressing."

Monday, 17 December 2012

A Conservative MP has claimed "most parents" don't want their children to be gay. How can he possibly know? How many has he asked? Certainly not me; if he had, I'd have told him I like having a gay son so much I think everyone should have one.

I mean...what does one say to narcissism like that?
Does she want a child, or a prize?

A court heard Shennie Jaffer had more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his breath when tested, nearly three hours after losing control of his BMW car in Passage Street and plunging into the Floating Harbour.

Bristol Crown Court heard Jaffer, of Robertson Road, Easton, had been showing off and refused to slow down or stop even though his terrified passengers – who included his pregnant girlfriend – pleaded with him before the accident at 4am on October 20

....

Jaffer dived into the water several times but his frantic efforts to free her failed and she drowned.

The court heard the 31-year-old then went home, where police later found him and his girlfriend, next to wet clothes.
Disoriented Jaffer initially told them they were "corrupt" in targeting him, before saying: "I tried to help her."

...

He had previous convictions for failing to stop after an accident in 2004, when he was banned for a year, and failing to provide a breath specimen in 2009, when he was banned for two years.

Jayne 'ebinx' Davies said: "Not sure what to say, you were a big man with a huge heart. Had many laughs n lots of drunken silly times with you. kept expecting to see you out on Sat, it's still such a shock. Hope you're having a blast up there the boys R.I.P Ginge. Gone but never forgotten. xxx."

And the tragic occasion that cut down the life of this potential future brain surgeon?

The man killed in a Swansea Valley car crash was driving a stolen car, police have confirmed.

Andrew Williams, from Clase, died in the collision near Ystradgynlais just after 8am on Saturday.

The 29-year-old was the sole occupant of a silver Honda Civic which left the road and hit a tree near the All Black Arms.

Sunday, 16 December 2012

In 1947 Congress acted to rein in “Big Labor” by passing (over President Truman’s veto) what came to be known as the Taft-Hartley Act. Among its provisions was a section permitting states to outlaw union shop agreements between workers and management– what some anti-union PR genius labeled “right to work” laws.

These laws bar unions and employers from requiring all employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement to either join the union or pay the equivalent of dues to the union. However unions almost always represent employees who refuse to join or make payments. So these employees receive all the benefits of being union members– the wage and benefit increases negotiated by the union, the right to union representation in grievance and arbitration cases– without paying a dime of the costs. Which is why some of us call these people freeloaders.

Yes indeed, as far as Gene at 'Harry's Place' is concerned, those people who don't want to kick back part of their salary to a cabal they don't want to join are the freeloaders...

Yes, we all saw the reports of the schoolgirls party trashed by freeloading scum whipped up on FaceBook, we all heard the excuses from the party organiser and her mother about how it all transpired, and we all thought 'Who'd be that stupid, not to realise the consequences?'.

Mrs Hines has bigger things to worry about. With estimates of up to £30,000 to repair structural damage and replace her furniture, she is in despair about how to find the money.

‘Since Andrew has been gone, money has been tight and I have no idea what we will do,’ she says.

There is little chance of compensation either — although the police have suggested bringing criminal charges, it could be hard to work out who to bring them against.

But, since we are talking about the Essex Farce, there is one culprit that's already been identified, they know the address, they won't need to do any hard work.

Who?

Essex Police confirmed it was currently considering if it is in the public interest to prosecute for a breach of the peace and allowing underage drinking in her home.

An Essex Police spokeswoman said: “Police are working with the family and considering whether any offences have been committed and whether it is in the public interest to prosecute those responsible. Local officers are also in contact with residents of the street to establish a full picture of the events which took place.”

A fashion craze almost cost a teenage boy his life after he swallowed the magnetic tongue studs he was wearing.

Michael Delaney, 15, was only hours from death and needed surgery when the studs, which are much more powerful than ordinary magnets, began making holes in his digestive system.

Yes. We've been here before! Albeit at least those weren't actually designed to be put in the mouth!

Last night Michael’s family issued a warning to youngsters to be aware of the danger if they were to swallow the studs, which are freely available in Britain.
They are popular because they allow teenagers to look as if they have had a piercing without incurring the wrath of their parents.

It'd be safer to have the piercing done, no matter how strict your parents!